9 inch brakes from Riley/Wolsey

Post by **oldmod1968** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 2:52 pm

Hi, Is the fitting of Riley or Wolsey 9 inch drums a useful conversion? Is it easier than disks? Does it need any additional conversions?
Chris

Post by **bmcecosse** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 3:04 pm

Discussed many times! (Regulars will be groaning). YES - the W brakes are ideal - bolt on conversion and give excellent braking. The R brakes are also bolt-on, but some have reported 'heavy' pedal with them - they are wider, and have smaller difficult to find cylinders. The W cylinders are also not easy to find (although repair kits are plentiful) - and the cylinders can be exchanged for normal Minor cylinders with a little bit of work. Either type is MUCH easier than disc conversion - no modifications required to the master cylinder and no remote reservoir required - although you can fit one if you wish. The W brakes certainly don't need a servo. The rear 8" drums from a W1500 are also WELL worth having if you can find them!
The biggest problem is FINDING these front (or rear) brakes - do you have some to hand ?

Post by **les** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 10:01 pm

Your year has started well Roy!

Post by **kennatt** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 9:15 am

oh no woooooo again

Post by **Longdog** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 12:24 pm

I went from Wolseley brakes to discs, no comparison in my opinion and you get the advantage of better wheel bearings.

linearaudio · Post by **linearaudio** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 12:54 pm

les wrote:Your year has started well Roy!

Isn't it about time that this subject was researched and set as a sticky?

For standard Moggys, it would seem that the 7" drums are a bit grim unless set up right and not over-taxed.
The 8" probably fine for sane driving without a full load and up to middling speeds.
9" Big W brakes are a simplish mod for those with some mechanical savvy (and you shouldn't be dabbling with brakes otherwise!)with the drawback of parts availability, and seem able to cope with good loads and silly speeds, without losing adjustment quite as readily as the standard set-up.
The "as standard" set-up overhaul/adjustments could easily be drafted.
I have previously documented the 9" route, which could be worked up a bit.

Discs need a bit more modification work and have possible stud pcd problems if you want to keep standard wheels. Raise possible questions of neccessity on a standard Moggy on 145 wheels, but much more sensible if you are planning on increasing power output and using with modified wheels suspension etc. Who is prepared to draft a non axe-grinding guide to this?

Also, how many out there have fitted discs to a standard Moggy which previously had well set-up 8" drums and what have been the observations? One commented problem seems to be the pedal pressure required with the drums, which itself could be lessened, if this was thought to be a problem, with a servo on the standard set-up, thus reducing some of the modification work entailed-and if that does not suit, then at least it is one building block on the way to a disc set-up!

Post by **Longdog** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 4:38 pm

By having the two sets of brakes fitted to the same car with the same mods before and after I am prepared to endorse discs as I drove the two sets two days apart that is a reasonably effective way of proving the argument.Naturally not everybody will agree with my point of view no doubt which is their perogative of course.I have seen the previous posts.

Post by **rayofleamington** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 4:55 pm

Also, how many out there have fitted discs to a standard Moggy which previously had well set-up 8" drums and what have been the observations?

I've driven standard Minors with 8" drums and disks. The pedal effort is not as different as I expected, and I'm happy to drive a standard Minor with drums, but disks win all round in terms of performance. With disks you can drive much more like a modern car, which allows for a bit less care (late braking, good stoping when loaded on downhills etc..)

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 5:53 pm

Sounds just like driving with W brakes then!

And yes - I have suggested before a 'sticky' on this subject.........

Post by **millerman** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 9:07 pm

A big plus for discs is the low maintenance requirements. NO sticking pistons and easy pad renewal.

This was over 100k miles.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 9:11 pm

Must be good calipers - Mini calipers stick horribly!

Post by **rayofleamington** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 9:34 pm

Must be good calipers - Mini calipers stick horribly!

I didn't know you put Mini calpiers on your Minor! Did you sell the W brakes??

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 9:53 pm

Not at all! But years of messing with Minis - forced me to eventually fit Fiesta single pot sliding calipers - ahh - much better! (Braking and no sticking!) . Just amazed that Marina calipers (essentially very similar to Mini calipers) didn't stick in 100k miles motoring! Must be a record there I think!!

Post by **rayofleamington** » Sun Jan 03, 2010 3:00 am

But years of messing with Minis - forced me to eventually fit Fiesta single pot sliding calipers - ahh - much better

Ah I C - you weren't talking about Minor brakes. The other advantage with Ford calipers is they are cheap new and/or every scrap yard has some.

As for Marina calipers, they never had a great reputation - even worse when 3 decades old! The only kits I'm aware of (i.e. currently on the market) use much more reliable / modern calipers.